False Negative

"There are slightly different versions of us."

Writer: John Dorney

Format: Audio

Released: November 2017

Series: UNIT: Encounters 5.04

Featuring: Kate, Osgood

Synopsis

When a strange travel capsule is activated in UNIT's laboratory, Osgood and Josh find themselves in a whole new world of trouble. Soon, nobody at UNIT HQ is quite who they seem, and the team discovers that the greatest danger they could ever face comes from within...

Verdict

False Negative was a really good audio to conclude what has been a mightily impressive fifth series of the modern UNIT spinoff series in the form Encounters! This one started off in a more than unexpected way with Osgood and Josh waking up in bed together with a whole bunch of shower innuendo. As if that wasn't weird enough, it then seemed that Osgood had Sam captive and went as far as killing him! Of course, this wasn't the universe we were used to and that was further evidenced by Kate instructing Shindi to simply kill escaped prisoners. The intruder alarm at UNIT going off was good and I liked how it was centred on Osgood's office. The capsule that was found had two occupants and from there it was clear to draw the conclusion that Osgood and Josh had arrived in a parallel universe. The constant bickering that was occurring between Kate and Shindi was so much fun and I loved the idea of the latter wanting to overthrow the former in a coup! There was a hint of seriousness in that joke which was just marvellous. The Osgood we are familiar with encountering Josh from the alternate reality was fantastic with him greeting her with quite the kiss! Her reaction to that was very good as she couldn't give up where she was from. The fact that Josh was in on the killing of Sam showed that in this universe, the Osgood and Josh were far from their counterparts in our universe. The contrast then shifting with our Josh being encountered and kissed by the other Osgood was fantastic and the humour that came with his usual comments of calling her hot when she was winning was a great deal of fun. The moment that the familiar Osgood and Josh met back up was fantastic and I liked how the former was explaining their location and the parallel universe arrival. The relaxed nature of the alternate Kate was really quite a shift and it was testament to Jemma Redgrave's performance that showed such a shift in dynamic. Her lack of care was startling. The capsule that brought Osgood and Josh to the alternate universe lacking power and there being no way back was a good problem to present and I really enjoyed how the other Osgood was working out what the capsule actually was. Josh dropping in the line about parallel universes to this Osgood revealed his hand and that ended up with him and the other Osgood taking a trip back to our universe once she had found a way to fix it. The humour of their meeting with Kate and how Josh was calling Osgood his lovely lady was just more fun. The concept of the other Josh and Osgood being planted within UNIT to destroy it within was excellent and something I'd have liked a bit more of. The fascist dictator of Earth was also something with more potential to explore. The other Osgood fleeing within UNIT HQ was good with the use of the deadly gun and I loved how Kate realised that this Osgood was from an evil parallel universe. Josh searching for the gun when planting the real Osgood with a snog was hilarious, but I would have liked more clarity on how she returned from the parallel reality. The line from Kate about an eye patch in referencing Inferno was also sublime stuff. Osgood pleading to her alternate self about the capsule damaging the framework of reality was good and the confrontation was well done. The line about this version being Osbad was a terrible joke, but it was one so bad that it was good. I liked how our Osgood was helping her alternate self find her way back and they worked together to boost the capsule's power and accelerate the process to get Osbad back home before the capsule exploded. It was a nice way to end things and I liked how Kate mentioned the Auctioneers' toys and that Sam had finally given word. It brought things to a very good end whilst setting up the next series. Overall, a great audio adventure! 

Rating: 8/10